Byrne makes strong early impression with Bayhawks

Sarah Michaels/HANDOUT

Josh Byrne (42) of the Bayhawks exploded for seven goals in Chesapeake’s game against the Rochester Rattlers last weekend. The left-handed Canadian was named MLL Rookie of the Week in recognition of the performance.

Josh Byrne (42) of the Bayhawks exploded for seven goals in Chesapeake’s game against the Rochester Rattlers last weekend. The left-handed Canadian was named MLL Rookie of the Week in recognition of the performance. (Sarah Michaels/HANDOUT)

Josh Byrne made quite an impression during his initial practice with the Chesapeake Bayhawks on June 1. In fact, after seeing the rookie attackman in-person for the first time, head coach Brian Reese was regretting not activating him for the following night's game against Ohio.

"We saw something special in Josh that very first night. He brought some excitement and charisma to the field," Reese said. "He showed tremendous stick skills and an ability to score in a variety of ways."

A video from that practice was posted to the team's website and shows Byrne using a difficult back-handed flip to hit the top corner of the cage from about 12 yards away. The former Hofstra standout did more of the same in his Major League Lacrosse debut last Saturday night.

Byrne exploded for seven goals to lead a big comeback by Chesapeake in an eventual 17-16 loss to the Rochester Rattlers. The left-handed Canadian was named MLL Rookie of the Week in recognition of the impressive performance, which showcased his versatility.

"I really liked that Josh scored in a bunch of different ways. He got goals by cutting and dodging, man up and six-on-six, right-handed and left-handed," Reese said. "What we saw was that Josh is very good off-ball. He has a real knack for getting open."

Attackman Josh Byrne made an impressive professional debut by scoring seven goals to lead Chesapeake, which battled back from a big deficit to force overtime before ultimately falling to host Rochester, 17-16, on Saturday night in Major League Lacrosse.

General Manager Dave Cottle thought he'd...

Reese related that Byrne told him afterward that he should have scored nine or 10 goals and was upset at not finishing a few good opportunities.

"You don't ever expect to come in and score that many goals in your first game," Byrne said this week. "You have those kind of games when everything works out perfectly. If you look at the highlights, there were a couple goals when I was wide open."

Indeed, Byrne scored two goals from the doorstep and one-on-one with the goalie after getting behind the defense. One came off a nice feed by long stick midfielder C.J. Costabile during an unsettled situation while the other came when Rochester faceoff specialist Drew Simoneau accidentally threw a pass right to Byrne while trying to play the ball back to his defense.

General manager Dave Cottle felt he had gotten a steal when Chesapeake chose Byrne in the third round of the 2017 Collegiate Draft late last month. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder was named a third team All-American after leading Hofstra with 66 points (41 goals, 25 assists) as a senior. He totaled 111 points in two seasons with the Pride after transferring from nearby Nassau Community College.

"I thought Josh Byrne was the sleeper of the draft. I went to see him play in CAA Tournament and was very impressed," Cottle said. "Josh plays so freaking hard. He is a big, strong lefty who is extremely skilled. He reminds me a lot of Mark Matthews."

Matthews was a prolific scorer at the University of Denver and is now plying his trade with the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League and Atlanta Blaze of MLL.

"I grew up watching Mark Matthews highlights. He was the first field player to start throwing box lacrosse fakes, doing toe drags and other crazy stuff," Byrne said. "I feel very blessed to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mark Matthews. I guess the comparison is that I'm a big lefty like him."

Byrne got to play alongside another one of great indoor players he grew up idolizing as a kid in New Westminster, British Columbia. Shawn Evans, who has amassed more than 1,000 points during his indoor professional career, used a tremendous move from behind the net to set up Byrne for one of several goals he got from cutting to the crease.

"Shawn Evans is an unreal talent. I've been watching him play for years. On that play, he put the ball right on my stick and it was like a tap-in goal," Byrne said. "Obviously, when you're playing with superstars like Shawn Evans and Matt Danowski, it makes life a lot easier. I was completely uncovered a lot last week. From here on out, there will probably be a better scouting report and I'll get a little more defensive attention."

That is exactly what Reese is hoping in the wake of Byrne's scoring spree, which produced the second-highest goal output by a rookie in MLL history.

"Do we expect Josh to score seven goals every game? Of course not," Reese said. "However, Josh has shown he can put the ball in the cage if left open so that gives us another weapon that opponents have to account for, which will open up things for others on offense."

Byrne, for one, is not getting too carried away by the hot start to his professional career. The 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year is not going to change his style and start shooting all the time.

"I'm going to continue to do what I do, which is work hard off the ball. If I get open and get a chance, I'm going to try to put it away," he said. "I've still got a long way to go. I need to get a lot stronger, a lot faster to be able to compete in this league. There are so many unreal defenseman that can shut you down. I have so much room for growth."

However, Byrne does believe the fast-paced, free-wheeling nature of Major League Lacrosse is an ideal match for his playing style. Having played box lacrosse from a young age, he is accustomed to having a shot clock and banging the ball around quickly.

"Personally, I like the MLL game a lot better because it is faster and more wide-open. You can take more chances on offense because there isn't such a premium placed on maintaining possession," Byrne said. "I think the transition game of MLL suits me well."

Byrne is still living on Long Island, doing some private coaching and working a bunch of camps.

"I want to get into coaching in some capacity. I really enjoy working with kids," said Byrne, who referred to Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney as a "father figure."